Lead Financial Insights Analyst

Co-op Digital; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

28 days holiday

Pension up to 10%

onsite gym

Staff discounts

Cycle-to-work

Virtual healthcare

Job summary

Co-op is seeking a Lead Financial Insights Analyst in Manchester to support performance insights, data modelling and reporting for the Propositions Finance Team. Hybrid work includes weekly office days to collaborate with the finance and propositions teams.

You’ll bring ACCA/CIMA/ACA or in-progress qualification, plus strong FP&A, budgets/forecasts, and advanced Excel, to drive variance analysis and actionable insights for commercial performance.

Qualifications

• ACA/CIMA/ACCA or equivalent, or in final stages of qualification.
• Experience in insight, analysis or FP&A with budgets/forecasts.
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel capabilities.
• Excellent communication with finance and non-finance stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide value analysis and insights to improve performance.
• Deliver accurate reports, financial plans and analyses with leadership.
• Embed risks/opportunities into forecasts and budgets.
• Perform variance analysis across business areas on a regular cadence.
• Support leadership with clear insights to inform decisions.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Analytical skills

Stakeholder communication

Budget & forecasting

Education

ACA/CIMA/ACCA or equivalent

Job description

Lead Financial Insights Analyst

£41,820 - £50,000 plus great benefits (Work Level 6A)

Manchester city centre - in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office once per week (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for a Lead Financial Insights Analyst to join our Propositions Finance Team to support performance insights, data modelling and reporting across our Food retail business.

Why this role matters

In this role you’ll be partnering with our finance business partners and wider propositions/commercial team to support change initiatives, identifying any opportunities or risks that might have a financial impact, and adding those into our forecasts, budgets, and strategic plans. If you can bring us the financial and analytical skills that we need, we can offer you the opportunity to build your career with a business that always puts people at the heart of its strategy.

What you’ll do

• Use your commercial insight and data modelling skills to provide value analysis to support the propositions team, with a focus on insights where we can take action and improve business performance
• Work closely with key business leaders to deliver detailed and accurate reports, financial plans and insightful analysis
• Make sure any risk and opportunities are identified and embedded into future forecasts, presenting any financial impacts they might have
• Provide reconciliation and variance analysis across the different business areas on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis
• Support communication with the leadership teams to make sure they can make well informed decisions that improve business performance and helping to tell the story of performance
• Provide trial analysis and support for key projects, including test and learn analysis
• Look out for any new techniques and methodologies to improve insights and regularly report on any changes to the external economic market

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• An accountancy qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent) or in the final stages of working towards one
• Experience in insight, analysis, or FP&A teams with strong knowledge of budgets and forecasts
• Strong analytical skills, with experience applying analytical methods, including hypothesis-driven approaches, alongside advanced Excel skills
• Strong communication skills, capable of presenting and influencing both financial and non-financial stakeholders
• The ability to manage competing priorities in a complex environment and drive continuous improvement

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion